Self-closing gate unit



1956 B. YOUNGWORTH SELF-CLOSING GATE um" Filed Sept. 6, 1952 3111mm ERA/QED 19 WET? United States Patent SELECLOSING GATE UNIT Bernard Youngworth, Baltimore, Md. Application September 6, 1952, Serial No. 308,219 3 Claims. (CI. 16-75) This invention relates to gates and more particularly to self-closing gates hingedly supported to control passage through an entrance-opening provided in inclosures like fences.

The conventional hinge supported gate is pivoted on one side to its support and usually opens in one direction and is returned to closed position by a tension spring. This type of gate is not suitable for use on an inclosure where the traffic passes through from both directions.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new and improved self-closing unit to be attached to a pivotally mounted gate to enable the gate to be swung from either side and return to its normal resting or closed position.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a new and improved gate closing unit having an adjustable tensioning means to control the closing speed of the gate to which it is attached.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and improved self-closing gate unit having interchangeable supporting means that may be varied in numbet to support a plurality of gates of various weights.

Other objects will become apparent as the invention is more fully set forth.

For a clearer understanding of the invention and the objects thereof, reference is made to the accompanying drawing, wherein a particular form of the invention is indicated. This drawing when used in conjunction with the following description serves to illustrate the invention, its principles and the operation thereof, while the claims indicate the scope.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a self-closing gate supported on a fence post and embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of Figure 1.

Similar reference characters refer throughout the drawing.

In the particular construction shown in the drawing a gate is pivotally connected to a fence post 11 by hinges 12, and swings in both directions, to allow passage between the fence posts between which the gate is mounted. The fence 13 may be of any conventional construction and has an end rod 14 passing through the end loops to similar parts of the fence to which .are fastened clamps 15 to anchor the fence 13 to the fence post 11. The gate 10 is only partially shown, but is of conventional design and comprises an upper rail 16, lower rail 17, and. two side rails 18 (only one of which is shown) which support fence material 19 between the rods 20. The fence material 19 is stretched and held in position by clamps 21 fastened to the side rails 18. The self-closing gate unit comprises an upper body 22 afliXed by clamp 23 to the fence post 11 and a lower body 27 affixed by clamp 28 to the side post 18 as noted in Figure l. Tensioning rods 24 having heads 25 are positioned in holes 26 in the body 22 and may be varied in number to suit the weight of the gate to be closed. The speed with which the gate is closed is regulated by moving the lower body 27 upwardly along the tensioning rods 24 and fastening the clamp 23 on the side post 18. The number of rods used and their location in the holes in the body may be varied to suit the conditions met with in the erection of the gate.

It should be understood that what makes the gate 10 self-closing is the fact that When the gate is opened, it pivots about the hinges 12 and, since the upper ends of the flexible rods 24 remain immovable within the body 22, the lower ends thereof are torsioned for the reason that the lower body 27 rotates with the side post 18. The inherent tendency, therefore, is for the rods 24 to reassume their original position as soon as the gate is freed.

While but one general form of the invention is shown in the drawing and described in the specification, it is not desired to limit this application for patent to this particular form as it is appreciated that other forms of construction could be made that would use the same principles and come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A closer for a gate hinged on aligned hinges on a fence post, said gate also having a post in vertical adjacency to the fence post, comprising a pair of spaced upper and lower bodies between the aforesaid posts and hinges, means for securing the upper body to the fence post, means for securing the lower body to the gate post and a singe torsional straight rod extending through both bodies and fast therewith, said rod being in vertical alignment with the aforesaid hinges.

2. A closer as set forth in claim 1 including a plurality of separate torsional rods disposed at either side of said first named torsion rod fast with said bodies.

3. A closer as set forth in claim 1 wherein the securing means for the bodies are selectively adjustable along the fence post and the gate post.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 121,507 Gray Dec. 5, 1871 124,111 Barrows Feb. 27, 1872 964,801 Martin July 19, 1910 1,611,238 Sanborn Dec. 21, 1926 FOREIGN PATENTS 90,112 Austria Nov. 25, 1922 

